George Kerr | |
|---|---|
| Ontario Minister of the Environment | |
| In office July 23, 1971 – February 2, 1972 | |
| Premier | Bill Davis |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | James Auld |
| In office October 7, 1975 – January 21, 1978 | |
| Premier | Bill Davis |
| Preceded by | Bill Newman |
| Succeeded by | George McCague |
| Member of theOntario Provincial Parliament forBurlington South Halton West (1967-1975) Halton (1963-1967) | |
| In office 1963–1985 | |
| Preceded by | Stanley Hall |
| Succeeded by | Cam Jackson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1924-01-27)January 27, 1924 |
| Died | May 21, 2007(2007-05-21) (aged 83) |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Spouse | Merrydith Kerr |
| Children | 3 |
| Profession | Lawyer |
George Albert Kerr (January 27, 1924 – May 21, 2007) was a politician inOntario, Canada. He served in theLegislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1985, and was acabinet minister in the governments ofJohn Robarts andBill Davis. Kerr was a member of theProgressive Conservative Party and was the first person to hold the portfolio of environment minister in any provincial or federal cabinet in Canada.[1]
He was born inMontreal,Quebec, and educated at theUniversity of New Brunswick andDalhousie Law School. He worked as a lawyer.
He served on the town council ofBurlington, Ontario, from 1955 to 1957 and from 1960 to 1962.
Kerr was elected to the Ontario legislature in the1963 provincial election, defeatingLiberal Party candidate Owen Mullin by 6,372 votes inHalton.[2] He served as abackbench supporter of Robarts's government for four years, and was re-elected in the1967 election.[3] He was appointed to cabinet on June 5, 1969, asMinister of Energy and Resources Management.
Kerr was the only cabinet minister to supportDarcy McKeough's bid to succeed Robarts as party leader at the 1971Progressive Conservative Party leader leadership convention. McKeough was eliminated on the second-last ballot, and, with Kerr, gave his support to Bill Davis.
Davis won the contest, and initially retained Kerr in the Energy and Resources Management portfolio.[4] In that role, Kerr oversaw the Ontario government's response to the discharge of about 10,000 kilograms (22,000 lb) ofmercury from theDryden Chemical Company'schloralkali plant, into the headwaters of the 235 km (146 mi)-longWabigoon River onLake Wabigoon in the Kenora District ofNorthwestern Ontario from 1962 until 1970,[5] which causedmercury contamination in the region's lakes and rivers. On April 6, 1970, he closed commercial fisheries and issued warning against consumption of fish in the area. According to a 2018 article inThe Guardian, in August 1970 Kerr had reassured the local community that the Wabigoon river would recover naturally within twelve weeks without government intervention or a clean up. In a speech to the Ontario parliament in 2010, MPNorman W. Sterling, said that Kerr had made up the estimate of twelve weeks, and quoted Kerr as saying, "If I had said it was going to be flushed out in one or two years, they would never have believed me." Sterling's words were "met with laughter in the Ontario parliament".[6]
On July 23, 1971, he was namedMinister of the Environment, the first such Cabinet minister in Canada.[1]
Following the1971 election,[7] Kerr was named asMinister of Colleges and Universities.[8] On September 28 of the same year, he was again transferred to becomeProvincial Secretary for Justice.[9] This post was a "super-ministry", overseeing the offices of theAttorney-General, theSolicitor-General, theMinister of Correctional Services and theMinister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs. While a strong position in theory, the office lacked defined administrative objectives, and ministers who held the position were often marginalized in legislative debates.
On February 26, 1974, Kerr was relieved of this position and named as Solicitor-General.[10] He temporarily resigned from cabinet on February 21, 1975, after allegations that he had solicited and received money from a man involved in a harbour scandal inHamilton. Kerr protested his innocence, but argued that he could not function as the province's Solicitor-General while the matter was unresolved. A subsequent investigation found no grounds to warrant charges against Kerr, and he was briefly returned to cabinet before leaving again on July 18.
The Progressive Conservatives were reduced to aminority government in the1975 provincial election. Kerr, re-elected for the new constituency ofBurlington South,[11] was returned to cabinet on October 7 as Minister of the Environment.[12] He held this position until January 21, 1978, when he was again named Solicitor-General and Provincial Secretary for Justice.[13]
He resigned a second time as Solicitor-General after he made a telephone call to an assistant crown attorney on behalf of a constituent who was facing trial for driving while his licence was suspended. The call quickly became public and Kerr resigned from cabinet on Sept. 9, 1978.[1]
Kerr was re-elected in the1981 provincial election, and served as a government backbencher for the next four years.[14] He retired from the legislature in 1985.
Kerr died on Victoria Day, 2007.
| Davis ministry,Province of Ontario (1971-1985) | ||
| Cabinet posts (7) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| John MacBeth | Solicitor General 1978 (January–September) | Roy McMurtry |
| John MacBeth | Provincial Secretary for Justice 1978 (January–August) | Gordon Walker |
| Bill Newman | Minister of the Environment 1975–1978 | George McCague |
| John Yaremko | Solicitor General 1974–1975 | John Clement |
| Allan Lawrence | Provincial Secretary for Justice 1972–1974 | Bob Welch |
| John White | Minister of Colleges and Universities 1972 (February–September) | Jack McNie |
| New position | Minister of the Environment 1971–1972 | James Auld |
| Robarts ministry,Province of Ontario (1961-1971) | ||
| Cabinet post (1) | ||
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| John Simonett | Minister of Energy and Resource Management 1969-1971 | Position dissolved |
